LOS ANGELES, CA.-The Museum of Contemporary Art , Los Angeles (MOCA), is pleased to announce artist Jenny Holzer as the recipient of the 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts. Holzer will be honored for her extraordinary talent and contributions to the arts during an exclusive award luncheon on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Hosted by one of the museums major support organizations, The MOCA Projects Council, this fundraiser benefits MOCAs award-winning educational programming. Edythe Broad will present the award to Holzer and remarks will be made by MOCA Projects Council President Pamela J. Smith. The 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts Luncheon is presented by BVLGARI.

MOCA is thrilled to honor Jenny Holzer with the 6th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts, said MOCA Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Young. This unique fundraising opportunity celebrates the work of a brilliant artist, who has created powerful statements of conviction and social commentary for more than three decades.

We hope that the community will join us in recognizing and celebrating the achievements of this accomplished and exceptional artist, and in supporting one of the leading contemporary art education programs in the United States, said The MOCA Projects Council President Pamela J. Smith. The focus of the Projects Council support group is MOCA Education, which has a long history of collaborating with artists and community organizations to bring the rewards and challenges of contemporary art to a broad audience. Its programs serve 30,000 students and community members each year.

The MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts was established by The MOCA Projects Council in 1994 to recognize the many gifted women providing leadership and innovation in the visual arts, dance, music, and literature. Jenny Holzer designed the bronze plaque, which features one of the artists truisms: It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender. Past recipients include noted collector and patron Beatrice Gersh (1994), editor Tina Brown (1997), choreographer Twyla Tharp (1999), actress and director Anjelica Huston (2001), and artists Barbara Kruger (2001) and Yoko Ono (2003).

For 30 years, Jenny Holzer has presented her astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions, including 7 World Trade Center, the Reichstag, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her medium, whether formulated as a T-shirt, as a plaque, or as an LED sign, is writing, and the public dimension is integral to the delivery of her work. Starting in the 1970s with the New York City posters, and up to her recent light projections on landscape and architecture, her practice has rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and moral courage. Holzer received the Leone d'Oro at the Venice Biennale in 1990 and the Public Art Network Award in 2004. She holds honorary degrees from Ohio University, Williams College, the Rhode Island School of Design, The New School, and Smith College. Holzer lives and works in New York.